Learning 2.0gether in Sheffield

9th September 2013

A new project being jointly co-ordinated by Voluntary Action Sheffield and Inova Consultancy Ltd, is providing training opportunities for both unemployed young people and SME's this autumn.

The Learning 2.0gether project, funded by the European Commission, is working to address the employability skills needs of unemployed people aged 18-27years old, and the Web 2.0 skills needs of older workers in SMEs and microbusinesses by bring the two groups together in a partnership, enabling them to work together and learn from each other. Young people have never been more disadvantaged when it comes to employment. Over the last few years, the global economic crisis has led to the highest recorded levels of unemployment among young people up to 25 years of age. At the moment, 22% of young people in the UK are unemployed, and the picture in Europe is even more serious. However, young people are highly aware of the Internet and it's opportunities for networking, research and purchasing. Although they lack experience of the working environment and business these skills can make them highly valued in the workplace but they need support in order to recognise that. Meanwhile, 99% of businesses fall into the 'small to medium-size' category that's up to 250 employees and many of those are 'micro-enterprises' of fewer than 10 people. With the dawn of the -digital age it has never been more important for businesses to promote their services and products online, however many workers, particularly those aged 50+ are often unaware of the benefits of using social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter and lack the skills needed to exploit these tools. Learning 2.0gether will tackle both these skills gaps by training a group of local young people who are -NEET, helping them to value and enhance the skills they have in social media and become Social Media trainers. We will match the young people with 50+ workers in local SME's and they will spend time putting their skills into practice by training their partner. The training is fully funded by the European Commission which means it is free to the target group. It will begin in October 2013 and we are currently taking applications from both young people and SME's. If you are interested and would like further information, please visit our website at http://www.learning2gether.eu/ Further information: Telephone: Carolyn Usher 0114 279 9091 Email: info@inovaconsult.com Web: http://www.learning2gether.eu/